WHAT? WHAAAAT? Forgive my stutter, but WHAAAAT? I’m currently, actively having my mind blown by this news. Like, in absolutely no way or in any alternate universe where rappers are all gay and clown on straight guys did I see this whole coming-out thing coming. Bravo!! Personally, I think Jamie Fox might be next. Do you think Jamie Fox is hot? Do you think he likes cock? What is your type anyways? Do you prefer white dudes or black guys or are you an equal opportunity lover? (Well, obviously you just said that you are, but you know what I mean). BUT SERIOUSLY. WHAAAT? This is so awesome.

Is it embarrassing to admit that I got a little weepy and then wet tear-shaped things started seeping out of my eyes when I read your letter out loud to my boyfriend? It almost made me wish I could go backwards and be eighteen again, bursting with ambiguous sexual desire. Then, when I remembered how uneasy and uncomfortable it all was wanting to fuck my friends, I resumed being extremely relieved that I already went through all of that “I know we’re BFFs and have sleepovers but these platonic massages make feel weird in a sexy way and stuff” kind of stuff. I guess what I’m saying is that I feel what you’re going through, Frank. I was that besotted 19 year-old-you once too, except I kept everything squelched inside and let the shame and guilt and fear of being found out swallow me up.

Given my own track record of silence, and your line of work which doesn’t exactly glorify homosexuality, I’m truly in awe of the graceful, courageous, and eloquent way in which you’ve stepped up and decided to go public about your sexual identity. Your words and your outspokenness are moving and inspiring, and I know that a generation of questioning young people who listen to your music, and who got to know you and respect you first as an artist, and then later as a queer person, will at least get to begin the process of feeling slightly more safe and accepted because of your pioneering proclamation helping them to see themselves represented in mainstream media.

Honestly, I don’t really even know that many specifics about who you are outside of the fact that you sing that sexy slow jam lap dance anthem called “Novocain” (insert joke about numbing shots to mouth–forgive me I’m five today) and that you run with those famously crude and un-PC Odd Future guys. But I don’t need to know all that much about your life story to understand the significance and social implications of your coming out to America and to the music industry right now, in this particularly touchy sexual climate. It’s no big secret that the black community, and the rap and hip-hop culture more specifically, thrives on and monetizes conventional masculinity, machismo, misogyny, sexist stereotypes, and the belittlement of women. Yet, here you are, totally un-phased, making catchy, sexy, vibey, soulful, baby-making music that people want to smash to. PLUS you’re all casually and coolly admitting, “Ya, so what, when I was 19 I fell in love with a man AND you still had heterosexual sex to my music.” That’s kind of badass and pretty unintentionally subversive.

Obviously I know from the humbled tone of your letter that this was not in fact a casual or cool realization for you, nor was it an easy confession to make, but nonetheless you’ve gone through with it, and made a permanent impact on pop culture and maybe even on how a few people view the LGBTQ community, which is certainly a far greater legacy than any gold record could leave (not to imply that you can’t do both).

So finally, what I’d like to do now is give you a hug and a handshake and a high five and a round of applause, because your honesty and heartfelt admission elicits all of those responses in me. So, with that, and with a temporarily renewed faith in today’s emerging talent and an appreciation for our up-and-coming young role models, I’ll conclude this note to you. Good job, Frank Ocean. To hell with that fool who broke your heart (not literally. not in Christian kind of way). As the saying goes, there are a lot of gay fish in the sea. You just need the right line to catch ‘em (which you have, because you write lyrics for a living, get it?)